Hyundai’s N Vision 74 praised at Italy’s classic-concept car show

Hyundai Motor Co., which has stunned the auto industry with its rebuilt 1974 Pony Coupe concept, has again enthralled car enthusiasts with its latest futuristic concept —the N Vision 74 — at this year’s Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este auto show in Italy.

The N Vision 74, inspired by the design heritage of the 1974 Pony Coupe, marks the South Korean carmaker’s first brand entry into the classic-and-concept motor show held May 20-21 in Lake Como, Italy.

Unveiled in 2022, the N Vision 74 is a hydrogen fuel cell hybrid rolling lab — or moving laboratory — from Hyundai’s high-performance N brand.

 The concept car was among the most flattering in Lake Como, as the rainy weather created a fitting background for the sports car's retro-futuristic lines, spectators at the motor show said.

“Participating in the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is a tremendous honor and speaks to Hyundai Motor's remarkable journey to get here. Yet there’s so much more to come,” said Luc Donckerwolke, president and chief creative officer of Hyundai Motor Group.

A rolling lab refers to a vehicle designed for R&D and verification to be carried out before its high-performance motor sports technology is applied to a mass-production model.

The fully functional N Vision 74, designed to lead Hyundai’s zero-tailpipe-emissions future, combines the strengths of a battery motor and a hydrogen fuel cell system.

It features two independent dual motors on its rear wheels, boasting a power output of 680 PS, a metric measure of horsepower, and acceleration from 0 to 100 km per hour in less than 4 seconds.

The car is powered by an 85 kW hydrogen fuel cell stack up front, a 62 kWh lithium-ion battery between the driver's and front passenger's seats and two 2.1-kg hydrogen tanks in the rear. It boasts a driving range of 600 km on a 5-minute full charge, according to Hyundai.

DESIGN DNA

Lee Sang-yup, vice president and head of the Hyundai Motor Design Center, said Hyundai’s participation in the Italian concept-car show is part of its efforts to uncover the “roots of Hyundai’s design DNA.”

“The N Vision 74 is a tribute to our past efforts and a declaration of our future, carrying forward the bold spirit of the Pony Coupe concept into a futuristic design that realizes the dream of our engineers to create Korea’s first sports car,” he said.

The concept car, which won the Instant Icon of the Year Award at the 2022 Top Gear Awards by BBC Top Gear, a prestigious British auto magazine, elevates the daring attitude of the Pony Coupe concept into a future-oriented Hyundai design, he said.

Prior to its appearance at the Italian auto show, the N Vision 74 was on display alongside a restored Pony Coupe concept, conceived by legendary Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, at the Hyundai Reunion in Lake Como.

After six months of restoration work, Hyundai said last week that it brought the original Pony Coupe concept back to life with the help of Giugiaro, showcasing the one-off replica at the reunion event.

The Pony Coupe concept never reached commercial production due to the adverse global economic conditions of the late 1970s.

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.